Ukrainian authorities knew about raid by "Russian Volunteer Corps", - Financial Times
The Ukrainian authorities knew that the so-called "Russian Volunteer Corps" would cross the border from the Ukrainian side and penetrate the territory of the Bryansk region.
As Censor.NET informs, the head of the formation, Russian Denis Kapustin, known under the pseudonym Denis Nikitin, said this in a conversation with the Financial Times. According to him, if the raid had not been approved, all its participants would have been destroyed.
According to Nikitin, about 45 people participated in the attack. Among them were members of a partisan network that allegedly operates on the territory of Russia.
Nikitin confirmed that there was a shooting in one of the villages. At the same time, he said that he did not know about the victims among civilians. According to the Russian authorities, two people were killed and a child was injured.
According to Nikitin, the "Russian Volunteer Corps" managed to show that its members can break through the border areas, which must be carefully guarded. "The main thing was to remind Russians that there is no need to live in shackles, put up with and participate in someone else's war, fulfilling someone else's will. We will support everyone who wants to remove these Kremlin usurpers from power," Nikitina is quoted as saying by the Financial Times.
The attack by the armed squad, according to Nikitin, also revealed the very poor state of Russia's defenses in the Bryansk region, although heightened security measures are in place in the region.
The Financial Times notes that Nikitin agreed to be interviewed, but many details of the operation, including reports of Kyiv's support, remain unclear and difficult to verify in wartime conditions.
One of the experts of the Financial Times called the attack of the "Russian Volunteer Corps" "a classic partisan attack in a classic place" - during the Second World War, partisan units operated in the region, which were very difficult to detect in the Bryansk forests.
The "Russian Volunteer Corps", as it is claimed, is a combat unit made up of Russian emigrants as part of the International Legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Denis Nikitin was born in Russia, lived with his parents in Germany as a teenager. In 2017, he moved to Kyiv and organized fight clubs for people with far-right views.
Nikitin was banned from entering the Schengen area for 10 years due to his far-right activities in 2019, but he remains active in Germany, France, Bulgaria and other countries without even visiting them. This was reported by Bellingcat investigators to the Financial Times.
Earlier, Russian media claimed that about 50 "saboteurs" took hostages of villagers in the Bryansk region of the Russian Federation, and a battle is underway.
The FSB of Russia announced about "Ukrainian nationalists" who "violated the state border" in the Bryansk region of the Russian Federation.
The General Staff announced that the Armed Forces of Ukraine conduct combat operations exclusively on the territory of Ukraine.
The State Border Service reported that information about a "Ukrainian DRG" on the territory of the Russian Federation is an informational provocation by the aggressor.
Russian dictator Putin called the incident in the Bryansk region a "terrorist attack".
